Condensing nozzle flows : Ludwieg tube experiments and numerical/theoretical modelling

The present paper deals with homogeneously condensing flows of humid nitrogen in a Laval nozzle. The modelling of nonequilibrium condensation phenomena can be separated in two distinct processes: homogeneous nucleation and droplet growth. Our objective is to investigate the quality of a condensation model characterised by the following combination: the (corrected) Internally Consistent Classical Theory for the nucleation process and a generalised transitional growth model, with the droplet temperature calculated explicitly via the wet-bulb equation. Our theoretical predictions have been then compared with our experimental results on droplet sizing showing a good agreement.